Across Connecticut, advocates and legislators shared the same concern — and said the Dulos case has again raised questions about how best to prevent domestic violence.
As the disappearance of Jennifer Farber Dulos gained national notoriety, coalition CEO Karen Jarmoc said she was frustrated by initial reports describing the case as “just a nasty divorce or custody battle.”
“Truly, it’s a case of domestic violence, and it’s always been about domestic violence,” she said. “What happened to Jennifer is very similar to what thousands of survivors experience every day.”
As the new legislative session approaches, lawmakers and advocates plan to propose bills surrounding domestic violence, abuse, and family court.
In fiscal year 2019, the coalition served nearly
38,000 victims of domestic violence across the state. There were 14 cases where police have charged an intimate partner in connection with a homicide. In all but one case the victim was a woman.
Domestic violence is really too narrow a term,” said state Sen. Alex Bergstein, D-Greenwich, who will announce new domestic violence legislation Friday. “We’re behind the times, and Connecticut needs to catch up.”
Although domestic abuse laws vary by state, Bergstein said the United Kingdom passed “coercive control" laws in 2015, which recognize a wider definition of abuse.
She called domestic abuse “an abuse of power” that can manifest in forms other than physical violence, such as financial control or emotional abuse. The U.K. defines those behaviors, along with threatening and property damage, as forms of “
coercive control” a person can be arrested for.
“These are patterns of controlling, coercive, and dominating behaviors meant to make another person feel small and powerless," Bergstein said.
In a separate legislative effort, Jarmoc and state Sen. Mae Flexer aim to improve training for judges on domestic abuse.
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According to a
2019 state report, “Judges receive extensive domestic violence training from national experts” beginning with four days of their two week orientation program and continuing throughout their career. Topics covered include intimate partner violence, domestic violence, perpetrator behavior, and how to assess the level of risk and danger to victims.
Marissa AlterVerified account @MarissaAlter
